Post by Salem6 on Oct 20, 2008 11:55:20 GMT
Serie A Week 7 - 18/10/08 (19.30 UK)
Napoli 2 - 1 Juventus
Amauri 61 (J), Hamsik 65 (N), Lavezzi 80 (N)
Stadio San Paolo
Claudio Ranieri is hanging by a thread after Ezequiel Lavezzi fought back for Napoli's 2-1 victory over Juventus amid some odd TinkerMan decisions. The Coach will be under fire for substituting Alessandro Del Piero, while Christian Poulsen picked up an injury that leaves him in doubt for Real Madrid.
Both sides have experienced Serie B recently and re-entered the European scene this season, but suffered their first defeats before the break for international duty. Claudio Ranieri was under the most pressure amid reports he would be fired and Juve needed to improve their record of a goal per game.
Momo Sissoko was suspended with David Trezeguet, Vincenzo Iaquinta, Cristiano Zanetti, Mauro Camoranesi, Gigi Buffon, Tiago Mendes, Nicola Legrottaglie, Jonathan Zebina and Olof Mellberg injured, so the team was totally revamped. Napoli too were missing Mariano Bogliacino, Inacio Pia' and Leandro Rinaudo, but had a 100 per cent home record in all competition.
Ranieri was in charge of Napoli from 1991 to '93, while Manuele Blasi and Marcelo Zalayeta were former Juve stars. The curva remained closed due to a ban over crowd trouble. The Napoli players wore black armbands in honour of President Aurelio De Laurentiis' sister.
Marek Hamsik horribly mis-kicked from eight yards, but moments later Juventus went very close indeed, as Christian Poulsen's strike took a deflection off Amauri to loop over Gennaro Iezzo, bringing a splendid fingertip save out of the veteran goalkeeper.
Alex Manninger fumbled a Zalayeta glancing header at the near post, but Pavel Nedved side-footed over Alex Del Piero's cutback. It remained a very open game and Manninger didn't get a decent catch on Hamsik's towering header, but Zalayeta was too slow to take advantage of the loose ball.
Christian Poulsen went into the book for repeated fouls and continued to run risks in the midfield. Iezzo held another Amauri header and flew to fingertip a Del Piero free kick out from under the bar.
Just before the break Zdenek Grygera's crucial intervention prevented Hamsik from getting a free header to Christian Maggio's cross at the back post. Moments later Fabiano Santacroce, who received his first senior international call last week, made a similar clearance to stop Nedved.
Daniele Mannini replaced Gianvito Vitale for the second half, but it was Juve's Claudio Marchisio who skimmed the bar with a fierce snapshot from 30 metres. Christian Molinaro nodded a taut Ezequiel Lavezzi cross off the head of Maggio at the back post, which would probably have led to a goal.
Lavezzi went on a fantastic run past three Juve defenders and exchanged passes with Zalayeta, but the return was too short and the great chance went begging.
Pocho Lavezzi rather ruined the memory of that moment with a free kick so bad it even went wide of the corner flag!
Maggio went on a searing run down the right flank and his angled cross-shot was only from the byline was kept out by Manninger's clutched knees.
However, it was Juventus who broke the deadlock on the hour mark. Poulsen surged down the left and curled in a mid-height cross for Amauri's brilliant volley from seven yards. The Brazilian did it with the inside of his foot and in a bid to compete, Paolo Cannavaro appeared to suffer a thigh strain.
The game burst into life and soon after Napoli equalised. Hamsik was at the back post for a powerful header from six yards on Lavezzi's cross from the left, but the Juventus defence had left the midfielder totally unmarked.
Less than 10 seconds later, Amauri went sliding on to a cross smothered by Iezzo. Napoli threw on Gustavo German Denis for the ineffective Zalayeta, as they were really pushing for all three points.
Rumours of a split between Ranieri and Del Piero were fuelled further as the captain was visibly irritated when he was replaced by Paolo De Ceglie, moving Nedved into central midfield. Poulsen went off with a muscular problem and made way for Swedish teen Albin Ekdal.
The Juve defence crumbled again as Napoli turned the game around completely 10 minutes from time. Knezevic and Salihamidzic collided when trying to crowd out Denis, effectively clearing straight to Lavezzi to burst through the centre and coolly finish past Manninger.
A stunning Hamsik volley whistled over the bar and Ranieri had to make changes, introducing Sebastian Giovinco for Molinaro in a 4-4-2. Grygera was booked for a horrible sliding tackle to stop Mannini running into the box and there was the real risk he could have got a straight red.
In the final minute Giovinco's free kick found a Giorgio Chiellini header just wide of he near post. Denis could've put it beyond doubt in stoppages, but his lob on the counter was off target.
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Napoli: Iezzo; Santacroce, Cannavaro (Aronica 64), Contini; Maggio, Blasi, Gargano, Hamsik, Vitale (Mannini 46); Lavezzi, Zalayeta (Denis 68)
Juventus: Manninger; Grygera, Knezevic, Chiellini, Molinaro (Giovinco 83); Salihamidzic, Poulsen (Ekdal 75), Marchisio, Nedved; Del Piero (De Ceglie 71), Amauri
Ref: Saccani
www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/sa0809/nap-juv.html